A record-breaking 141 tornadoes ripped
through Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee in January, the National Weather Service
reported today. More tornadoes occurred on Jan. 21  a preliminary
total of 87  than on any previous January day on record.

With additional twisters ripping through six other states earlier
in January, the preliminary total count for the month is now
163, more than three times as many as the previous monthly record
for January of 52 tornados set in 1975, according to Joe Schaefer,
director of the National Weather Service's Storm
Prediction Center, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
facility in Norman, Okla.

"Any time of year, we hate to see
destruction and loss of life," Schaefer said. "Frankly,
we consider this to be a significant number of tornadoes for
a March day -- the height of tornado season. These numbers in
January are unprecedented."

These tornadoes occurred in January because of an unusual January
weather pattern, according to Harold Brooks, meteorologist with
NOAA's National Severe Storms
Laboratory in Norman, Okla.

"The storms were caused by a southerly
flow of wind coming from the Gulf of Mexico, which brought in
moisture at low levels in the atmosphere combined with a strong
upper air pressure wave, which causes wind at about 30,000 feet,"
Brooks said. "We usually don't see this tornado-producing
combination until March or April."

The first tornadoes of 1999 occurred on the first day of the
year in Texas and Louisiana. The next day, more tornadoes hit
Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina, with a total
of 18 in just two days. Two additional tornadoes six days later
struck Louisiana and Mississippi.

On Jan. 17, deadly tornadoes touched down
in three states -- Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee -- killing
10 people and injuring another 100. The latest outbreak included
104 tornadoes spotted during a three-day period, with most of
those occurring on Jan. 21 in Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.
During the next two days, 17 additional twisters struck Mississippi,
Alabama and Florida. The first tornado death this year occurred
40 minutes after midnight on Jan. 2, and the total number of
deaths rose to 18 by the end of the month.

Better warnings and longer lead times are
the result of NOAA research and the National Weather Service's
modernization program, according to George Wilken, science operations
officer with the local forecast office in Little Rock, Ark.,
that serves the area hit by more than 65 twisters since Jan.
1. In addition, a new Tornado Detection Algorithm (TDA), developed
at the National Severe Storms Laboratory and installed in all
local forecast offices in November, helped increase warnings,
which varied from 20 minutes to five hours during the Arkansas
outbreak.

"The TDA provides faster recognition
of storms and gives meteorologists a sharper definition of where
a tornado might be located," Wilken said.

Local forecasters use the TDA, a computer
program that helps interpret Doppler radar data, in combination
with other products and storm spotter reports to determine what
is happening and alert the public.

Tight coordination between the Storm Prediction
Center and local forecast offices allows everyone to plan ahead
and be prepared when a storm hits, Wilken said.

The Storm Prediction Center monitors and
forecasts severe and non-severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, winter
storms, extreme winds, heavy rain and other hazardous weather
phenomena across the continental United States  every hour
of the day and night, every day of the year. The Storm Prediction
Center issues tornado and severe thunderstorm watches across
the nation, and coordinates with forecasters in local National
Weather Service offices who are responsible for issuing warnings
when severe weather strikes their area.

"Working with the Storm Prediction
Center, we started telling the public to watch for severe weather
four days before it occurred," Wilken explained.

All agree these early warnings saved lives
during what they describe as an incredible month.